Essie Gel Couture Review

I have been very vocal in my love for essie polishes. The brushes, the formula, the colours, the longevity – all absolutely wonderful. So the news that essie were bringing out their version of ‘gels’ I was intrigued to try them. Have a nosey at my Essie Gel Couture review below (plus there’s a VERY exciting new launch at the bottom of this post so keep your eyes out for that as well!)

Essie Gel Couture Review

Most brands have now brought out a format of ‘gels’ – combining the affordability and ease of a regular polish (e.g. no curing with an LED light and no effort with removal), with the shine and lasting power of an actual gel polish. And I have 3 of the Essie Gel Couture polishes* to show you.

From an aesthetic point of view, these are certainly eye catching! I will admit, my first thought was ‘they are going to seriously mess up the look of my nail polish racks!’ The glass bottles are twisted which I think will have a love/hate response from consumers but I think they’re quite fun. The formula of the polishes is quite thick and you need to work fast as it’s quite fast drying. The top coat comes in an opaque white bottle and the brushes are flat, wide, and have a tapered end which makes them super easy to use. The top coat isn’t as fast drying as my true love – Seche Vite – but it is very fast, smoothes out any lumps and bumps and gives a high shine. These lasted about 10-11 days on average which is great for non-cured polish, but essie formulas always last very well on me so I had high hopes!

Essie Gel Couture Review

The first polish I swatched was Essie Gel Couture ‘Make The Cut’, a very pretty pearly greige. I thought this was going to be a sheer and wishy-washy colour but this was opaque in two coats.

Essie Gel Couture Review Essie Gel Couture Review

Next up is Essie Gel Couture ‘Sew Me’, a peachy blush pink. This was another two coater and an absolute new favourite colour. It’s pretty but chic and neutral enough to go with most outfits.

Essie Gel Couture Review Essie Gel Couture Review

The last set of swatches from the Essie Gel Couture range is ‘Hang Up The Heels‘. This is a dreamy dark forest green that looks almost black in indirect sunlight. LOVE. And it’s another two coat wonder!

Essie Gel Couture Review Essie Gel Couture Review

This next polish is very exciting for me because I’m a nail varnish geek. Essie Weingarten (the woman who started the Essie brand) famously hated the colour yellow. Hated it. So she vowed there would never be a yellow Essie polish released. But the new Global Colour Director, Rebecca Minkoff, has taken over and she decided that – in their 35th year of making polish – Essie’s 1000th shade would be the brightest yellow I’ve ever seen! I’m so excited that Essie have released 1000 nail varnishes over the years, it’s such a huge milestone. Introducing Essie ‘Aim To Misbehave‘*! It’s a gold-toned yellow with shimmery flecks that catch the light. It’s hard to wear yellow when you’re pale like me, but I really like this as it’s so special. This polish is limited edition and the only place I can currently find it in the UK is Nail Polish Direct.

Essie Gel Couture Review Essie Gel Couture Review Essie Gel Couture Review

How do you feel about yellow polishes? Are you tempted to buy it just because it’s limited edition? (No judgement here!) What are your thoughts on the Essie Gel Couture polishes? Let me know in the comments below.

Lex

*PR sample. Some links may be affiliate. For more information please see my disclaimer tab at the top of the page.

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8 Comments

  1. 24th July 2016 / 10:52 pm

    God, your nails are just perfect! The colours are lovely, although yellow is a bit beyond me. How well do they last on the nails?

    • Lex
      Author
      2nd August 2016 / 10:36 am

      Thank you so much! They are my babies 🙂 Yellow is such a divisive colour, it’s really split opinion! I’ve updated the blog post with the longevity of the gels, sorry I thought I included that! (about 10-11 days on average for me FYI)

  2. GillTries
    25th July 2016 / 1:13 pm

    Love the yellow, I’d added it to my wish list – thanks!

    • Lex
      Author
      2nd August 2016 / 10:35 am

      Isn’t it beautiful? I’m such a sucker for limited edition and unusual shades!

  3. 28th July 2016 / 1:08 pm

    These look unbelievable! I love that dark green, the mirror-like shine is so pleasing to my eyes. Interesting fact about Essie and yellow – I’m not a huge fan of that shade tho. Give me Model’s Own pastel neon yellow instead!

    Faye x
    i wish i could wink

    • Lex
      Author
      2nd August 2016 / 9:18 am

      I love really dark nail varnish colours, they make me feel so vampy! The yellow is VERY yellow, isn’t it? I’m a sucker for limited edition though…

  4. Kathleen Medjuck
    3rd August 2016 / 4:17 pm

    I’m trying this line as well. I’ve got “take me to thread” on and have had it on for 7 days now. I LOVE the color. I found it kind of difficult only because I found that it took a really long time to dry to the hard shell that it is now. After about 20 mins, I accidentally hit a nail on something and it budged. I managed to fix it with another coat of the top coat. I don’t normally have that much time to dedicate to not touching anything. Did I do something wrong? My nail edges are showing now but not enough that I need to change polish (although I want to) and I’m not the best at wrapping so that could be my fault. I’m interested to see just how long it will look good so I’ll keep going. Final mention, I used opi nail envy as my base. Cheers.

  5. Kathleen Medjuck
    5th August 2016 / 3:38 pm

    Oh my how I’m influenced by you. I just bought my own “aim to misbehave” because it’s a limited edition and because it looks so great on you. BTW, I’m on day 10 with “take me to thread”. You will adore this color.

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